Bills' defense tumbles in 2024 NFL defensive rankings

The Buffalo Bills' defensive unit ranks among the bottom half of the league in B/R's NFL defense rankings. Here's why that doesn't make sense.

Jan 21, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott reacts against / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Buffalo Bills defense has perenially been one of the league’s best since head coach Sean McDermott took the reins of the team in 2017, consistently finishing near the top of the NFL in total defense and points allowed. Buffalo is coming off a 2023 season in which it finished ninth in yards allowed per game (307.2) and fourth in points allowed per game (18.3), marking the team’s third consecutive finish among the league's top 10 leaders in total defense and fifth under McDermott’s leadership.

Buffalo’s defense underwent a bit of a revamp in the 2024 offseason, however, with the team moving on from stalwart safeties Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer and cornerback Tre’Davious White, all of whom have started for the team (when healthy) since 2017. While key cogs like Matt Milano, Greg Rousseau, and Taron Johnson are set to return, the turnover at the position has sparked concern from some; in his recent ranking of every defensive unit in the NFL, Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine listed the Bills’ defense as the 17th best in the league, noting the aforementioned departures and the losses of rotational pass rusher Leonard Floyd and linebacker Tyrel Dodson as reasons for concern.

“The Bills had to replace all of those pieces on a budget and there's bound to be some drop off,” Ballentine wrote. “They do, however, still have Milano in the middle of it all and they still have Greg Rousseau and Ed Oliver up front. Rasul Douglas and Christian Benford is a solid cornerback duo and they have coaching continuity with Sean McDermott still in charge.

“There are enough familiar faces to be alright. They will need some unexpected depth to emerge if they are going to do better than that.”

Ballentine also writes that Buffalo’s defense can exceed expectations if second-round pick Cole Bishop shows early promise and the NFL’s active sack leader in Von Miller can return to form.

Related: Projecting the Bills' defensive depth chart for the 2024 NFL Season

All football fans, writers, and pundits are entitled to their own opinions, but ranking the Bills’ defense among the bottom half of the league, frankly, seems a bit harsh. There’s objectively some uncertainty given the significant turnover, but it’s not as though Buffalo has not been without the likes of Hyde, White, and Poyer in the recent past. Hyde missed all but two games in the 2022 NFL season due to a neck injury; the Bills finished sixth in yards allowed per game that year. White has missed long stretches over the past three seasons due to various significant leg injuries; Buffalo has finished among the league leaders in total defense in each of these seasons.

Sure, this will be the first time that the Bills will be without all three of their stalwarts for an extended period, but McDermott, throughout his stint as Buffalo’s head coach, has consistently shown the ability to coach up defensive backs and make the most of what he has. Think back to 2017, when the very players pundits are now concerned about Buffalo losing emerged thanks to McDermott making something out of nothing.

The Bills are also (largely) replacing their departed starters with experienced players who have been around the system. Rasul Douglas, who was acquired by the team at the 2023 trade deadline, continues as the team’s No. 1 corner after replacing the injured White in the role last season. Hyde and Poyer will be replaced by Taylor Rapp, who returns from last season, and the recently signed Mike Edwards. Every other starter returns from last season.

Buffalo’s defensive departures could, in theory, prove to be the unit’s death knell, but that seems like a rash judgment at this juncture. The unit has ranked among the league’s best for much of the recent past, returns nine starters, and is still coached by the defensive-minded McDermott; to rank it as a bottom-half unit in the league—and worst in the AFC East—seems unjustified.